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Going Underground with Hermitage Primary School

Submitted by Education on Wed, 18/02/2015 - 11:58

At Bow Arts we’re always looking to strike up new relationships and see what exciting opportunities they present. This term we’ve had the pleasure of working with Hermitage Primary School in Wapping and the team at St George’s London Dock site to deliver a project about…tunnels!

Children in KS1 at Hermitage Primary have been learning about Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Thames Tunnel – the first underwater tunnel in the world – that stretches under the Thames between Wapping and Rotherhithe. Inspired by this incredible story, Bow Arts artist Emma Corinne worked with the children to make clay figures representative of the millions of Londoners that have travelled through the Thames Tunnel from Brunel’s day to the present.

Over 400 of these clay characters were installed in the basement of the Pennington Street Warehouse at the London Dock site to create a spectacular artwork to rival Anthony Gormley’s ‘Field’.

This project was a fantastic opportunity for young people to engage with the built heritage of their local area in a creative way, and marks the beginning of lots more artist-led activity in this historic part of East London to come. Watch this space!

Kathryn Newman, Education Projects Manager

At Bow Arts we are committed to supporting East London communities and artists. In turn, we rely on all the support individuals, the community and artists can afford to give back.